Kindles and Other Stuff

Spotify has defended its link-up with Facebook, which means new users must have an account with the social network in order to join the music service.

The move to force music lovers to link to a Facebook account has come under fire from users and industry insiders, but Spotify boss Daniel Ek has claimed the decision was intended to make signing up easier.

“About Facebook registrations. We want to remove barriers to sign-up and create a more seamless experience,” Ek said on his Twitter account. “We think our users are social.”

I’d be happier if Spotify didn’t deem Facebook a ‘passport’

However, the backlash may spark an early rethink, with Ek candidly pointing out that: “We’ll try lots of things, and probably screw up from time to time, but we value feedback and will make changes based on it.”

Ek had described a Facebook as a “virtual passport”, sparking complaints from people who have chosen to live without an account.

A lot of the information revealed during the official presentation has already been expected by those who have been reading up on tech blogs. For instance, the Kindle Fire tablet has a 7-inch screen, free data storage over the Internet and a new browser — Amazon Silk.

Kindle Fire weighs 14.6oz, and has the capacity for 100,000 movies, 17m songs, and as many magazines as one could read.

“Only six months into its Mercury orbit, the tiny MESSENGER spacecraft has shown scientists that Mercury doesn’t conform to theory. Its surface material composition differs in important ways from both those of the other terrestrial planets and expectations prior to the MESSENGER mission, calling into question current theories for Mercury’s formation.”